mitt romney just arrived here. we're not expecting anything huge to come out of this meeting. no appointment. for example, to the cabinet. but the president certainly, i think, hoping to engage in a serious conversation. this, as you point out, will be just the seventh time that these two have sat down after what was really a bruising fight during the election. this is really about sort of striking a tone of bipartisanship, helping these two former rivals to bury the hatchet but helping, i think the country to move forward, especially as we get closer to that fiscal cliff deadline. >> and ruth is here at the table. one of the issues could be the sort of backdrop the post-election comment by all sides not only mitt romney but also by stewart stevenson, op-ed his adviser. there was a time not long ago when the problems of the democratic party revolved arounding too liberal and dependent on minorities. obama turned those problems in advantages and rode that strategy to victory but he was a charismatic african-american president with a billion dollars, no primary and media that fe